Hanging out on the couch the day after an intense workout may seem like the best way to give your muscles some time to recover, but you might be surprised to learn that your body will actually bounce back better if you keep it moving by opting to engage in an active recovery activity instead.
What is active recovery, exactly? It involves participating in lower-intensity exercise to rebuild and restore your muscle strength for future training sessions. The lower intensity movement causes blood flow that carries oxygen and other nutrients to assist in muscle repair and prevent fatigue. “It’s akin to a ‘staycation.’ You’re still ‘in-town’ but seeing the sights in a new and relaxed way,” says Andia Winslow, a personal trainer and founder of The Fit Cycle. “It’ll ensure less soreness/stiffness and enhanced performance when returning to regularly programmed workouts.”
You should typically plan an active recovery activity in between your tougher training sessions. “For example, if your workouts were on Monday and Tuesday, Wednesday would be active recovery,” Winslow says. “Thursday and Friday would be workouts again, and passive recovery would fall on the weekend in this example. Unlike its active counterpart, [passive recovery] truly is a rest day. Take a load off, kick off your shoes, and relax. Remember, this is a necessary part of the programme.”
It’s also possible to incorporate active recovery into your regular training sessions too by choosing to spend your rest time between exercises doing less-intense moves — think: jumping jacks, air squats, or boxer shuffles — geared toward keeping your heart rate up and you burning calories at a higher rate than if you just used that time to stand or sit down.
According to Winslow, though, dedicating whole days to active recovery will benefit your bod most. When it comes to the types of workouts that qualify as “lower-intensity exercise,” there are plenty of active recovery examples from which to choose. “What’s great is that active recovery can be fun,” she says. “Try a meander in a park with your dog, shoot some hoops, ride your bike slowly through a new neighbourhood, glide around in a pool — the opportunities are endless.” Winslow also recommends working on stretches like low lunges, heel-to-toe raises, and seated back rotations.
Here, you’ll find 11 of the best active recovery workouts to do on your off days. You’ll also find a list of the benefits of active recovery — which are, let’s just say, compelling enough to compete with an afternoon spent clearing your Netflix queue.